The report from Toronto-based research institute The Citizen Lab said Ethiopian dissidents were targeted with emails containing sophisticated commercial spyware posing as Adobe Flash updates and PDF plugins.

“Our analysis of the spyware indicates it is a product known as PC Surveillance System, a commercial spyware product... offered by Cyberbit — an Israel-based cyber security company that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems — and marketed to intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” the report said.

Officials at Elbit had no immediate comment. Its shares in Tel Aviv were down 1.9 percent in late trade. (Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Steven Scheer)